US vs EU Privacy Laws for bloggers ( + special rules in California, Germany, Austria, Switzerland)
Being based in Europe, one of the things I learned after creating my website is that this part of the world currently has stricter privacy laws for website and blog owners compared to most countries in the world.
The EU's "General Data Protection Regulation" is very complex and if you manage a website while living in the EU, you must observe these regulations. Your "Privacy Policy" (and your "Cookie Policy") pages must be in line with these regulations.
I also noticed that some major US websites (with many international visitors) also abide by these regulations, while others are not accessible from Europe because of these laws. For example, here's what happens when I try to visit https://quadcities.com from Europe: https://imgur.com/a/sBG4lI8
I also found out that while no similar national US regulation exists, the US state of California has adopted a law called California Consumer Privacy Act, which is in many aspects similar to the EU's GDPR.
I know many people don't really deal with these issues before their website reaches a certain level of traffic / authority / sales but I wanted to minimize any kind of legal risk from the beginning.
Some of you may also be interested in taking care of these issues ASAP so here's what I did.
I found out that there are various companies that offer standardized legal services to small website owners. You sign up, you answer a questionnaire, and they auto-generate a privacy policy, cookie policy etc. that are in line with the EU's GDPR, the California's CCPA and other US and International rules website owners are supposed to observe.
Sadly, most of these companies charge you a monthly fee. I am currently using a service from a British company that charges €18/month on your first website and €9/month on any other website. The good thing is that they have a team of lawyers updating your privacy policy every time some law changes, so you don't have to worry about it. You just embed the HTML code on your policy page and they will update it automatically.
I also found some free services, but they didn't look very reliable. Others "look" free, but once you answer all questions to generate the privacy policy, they tell you you have to pay a fee.
Maybe you'll have more luck and find some better / cheaper free services.
Another important detail is that, in addition to an EU-compliant Privacy Policy, three European countries (Germany/Austria/Switzerland) also require you to have a so-called "Impressum" on your website/blog. The closest English translation is "Legal Notice". Here you have to state which company or person owns the website (and also give a physical address) and who is responsible for content (+ address + telephone number). Also, you have to mention that this "Impressum" is also valid for social media channels linked to your website/blog.
So take notice if you are based in one of these countries. If you live in these countries and your website is in English, you can write the "Impressum" in both English and German.
Thanks for reading and stay well.
Recent Comments
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I;m struggling I live in Europe only With WA hosting I assume my website is based in Canada. WA provides cover through the privacy policy and disclosure guidelines am I missing something here?
Hi Ramco, this has nothing to do with hosting. It's about making your website comply with some privacy regulations. I know that the affiliate disclosure is mandatory in the US, so I have added it anyway for my US visitors. As for the privacy policy, most free templates you find online are certainly good for the US (minus California) but I don't know if they are enough for California and EU laws. You might want to do some research about it.
Hi Orazo,
Please forgive me I meant based so our websites are based in Canada is that not so or are they based where you live as I know my website is not operating out of where I live.?
Yes I an aware and thankful to you pointing out California or European issues will certainly look into that have not seen the need as was assuming website base....
I do know that both in the US, Australia, and parts of Europe it is unnecessary to provide a full affiliate disclosure insofar as you make aware your potential customers that you are receiving a commission which is sufficient notice to be subsumed under the weightier and long versions of disclosure.....
Would appreciate you thoughts on website base please....
I think hosting should be considered a service. For example, Guiness can buy hosting services from Canada, the US, Japan or Singapore, but it's still an Irish company based in Ireland. So its website must comply with Irish and EU laws, as well as with the laws of the countries in which it's selling its products.
When you create a website or a blog, you are a publisher (like a magazine or a newspaper). From a legal standpoint, you are operating under the laws of the country in which you live. I am currently based in Germany, and here I also had to register as a business to operate a website whose long-term intention is to make money. I think the most important thing is to observe the laws for websites/blogs in the country where you are living. Then to observe the laws of the countries from which you think are receiving (or plan to receive) a lot of traffic. That's why I just decided to sign up for this British company called Termly (but there are many others too) where you just pay a monthly fee, insert some information, answer some questions and you'll automatically comply with EU, US, California and international rules. I prefer paying a bit more and have peace of mind frankly.
Thank you Orazio, very much appreciated it's a virtual minefield and you are very right to bring up the fact that it can be.
I totally agree with the premise that you present as an example for world wide operators and although we are not as we are not represented world wide I can see where the same rules can apply and it is most helpful that you have raised this forewarned is forearmed it is said!! ;The advice to comply within the rules both where you live and where you earn or hope to earn are enduring principles and make total sense!!
i am of the same persuasion and wholeheartedly agree with you it is well worth the peace of mind especially as it is monthly!!
Thank you most kindly for bringing this issue up and sharing most helpful indeed!! and extremely much appreciated I was aware but not as aware and informed now and for that a big thank you, you are most kind.
R.
You're welcome, Ramco. It's always a pleasure to share experiences and insights with fellow digital marketers!
Indeed it is Orazio....between you me and the Lampost all this is small fry in comparison to the bigger fish of tax implications to my mind....I worked at board level for companies that were as big if not bigger than Guiness and I know what we had to do in mitigating those effects ....now that I have had the pleasure of meeting you I am sure that will be a future topic to chew the fat over....lols
Much appreciated Orazio!!
R.
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Thanks for this important information!
Jeff
You're welcome, Jeffrey.
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